On Panchayati Raj Divas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for ending "sarpanch-pati" culture in panchayats, the practice of husbands of women sarpanches exercising undue influence in conducting its affairs. (PTI)(In pictures: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addresses the Conference on National Panchayati Raj Day 2015 in New Delhi on Friday.)

Recalling a political event in which someone told him that he was an SP (sarpanch-pati), Modi said, "this business of SP is going on. Law has empowered women. When law has given them the rights, they should also get an opportunity. Bring to an end this SP culture. They (women) should be given the opportunity. They should be promoted." (PTI)
(In pictures: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi present the State (Devolution Index) award to Sikkim Minister for Rural Rural Management & Development, S B Subedi and Secretary, D R Nepal during the conference on National Panchayati Raj Day 2015 in New Delhi on Friday.)

Narendra Modi hails Jawaharlal Nehru, asks youth to imbibe his scientific temper: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed Jawaharlal Nehru and said the youth should take inspiration from him and imbibe his scientific temper. Chairing the 41st AGM of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society here, he said the institution should attempt to reflect the thoughts of India's great leaders such as Nehru on contemporary themes such as good governance, a PMO statement said. He said the youth of India could take tremendous inspiration from great leaders who made this nation. In particular, he emphasized the need for the youth to imbibe Pt Nehru's scientific temper, it said. (28/04/2015)

Referring to his visit to an all-women Gram Panchayat in Gujarat when he was Chief Minister, Modi said that the sarpanch told him there that her motto was to ensure that no one remains poor in the village. "Has Panchayats in our country ever thought that there should be no poor left in our country. If one village brings five persons out of poverty in a year, what a big change will come in the country," he said. (PTI)
(In pictures: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Chaudhary Birender Singh in conversation during the Conference on National Panchayati Raj Day 2015 in New Delhi on Friday.)

"We will not be able to develop our villages as long as we do not have a feeling of respect and pride towards them...we have to motivate people, provide leadership." He said this required a firm resolve, rather than any provision. He gave some suggestions in this regard, such as celebrating a birthday of a village.
(In pictures: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addresses the Conference on National Panchayati Raj Day 2015 in New Delhi on Friday.)

The Prime Minister urged panchayat members to motivate all government officials in their village to spend at least one hour a week with school children. "Then you will see how the combination of budget and leadership brings about the turnaround," he said. (PTI)
(In pictures: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul in a meeting in New Delhi.)

The Prime Minister said that if the amount spent by the governments on development of villages in the last 60 years is totalled and then compared with the development that has taken place there, one will wonder where all the money went. "If we collectively discuss the development of Panchayats, change will begin happening. I am not talking about the issues in which budget is a problem. An atmosphere has been created in our country that if something does not happen, it is due to lack of budget. The reality is not that," he said. (Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
(In pictures: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a conference on National Panchayati Raj Day in New Delhi.)

On the school drop out issue, Modi said one is anguished if his or her child stops attending school. "But do we feel the pain if some child in our village is a drop out? We should feel equal pain even then. The entire Panchayat should feel the pain. If we do it, I do not think anybody will remain uneducated in our villages." ((Express photo by Prem nath Pandey)
(In pictures: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Minister of Panchayati Raj Birender Singh and MoS Nihar Chand releasing a report card during a conference on National Panchayati Raj Day in New Delhi.)

The Prime Minister also wondered whether water can be given priority under MGNREGS work. "MGNREGS work is carried out in every village. We should use MGNREGS for water management. How will any water crisis come then," he said.(AP)
(In pictures: Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a function to mark the national Panchayati Raj or village civil council day, in New Delhi.)